1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an air conditioner, and more particularly to a room air conditioner which is conveniently assembled and increases productivity by improving the structure of wall portions provided therein.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, air conditioners are apparatuses for conditioning air in a house or an office with a properly adjusted indoor temperature and humidity agreeable to the human body. In practice, the air conditioner may be controlled to keep an indoor temperature of about 28.degree. C. and an indoor humidity of about 65-75% during hot summer days, while keeping the indoor temperature of about 18.degree. C. and the indoor humidity of about 55-70% during cold winter days.
In such an air conditioner, and especially in a room air conditioner, all the operative components thereof are assembled in one unit. Within the room air conditioner unit, the evaporator and the exhaust grill portions for expelling the conditioned air to a room are located toward the room, and the condenser part which produces a super-heat during its operation is extended out of the room so as to be cooled by outdoor air.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show the exterior appearance and the structure of a conventional room air conditioner. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the conventional room air conditioner, to perform refrigerating cycles, comprises a compressor 1 for compressing refrigerant gas with a high pressure and a high temperature, a condenser 2 for gradually condensing the high temperature and high-pressure refrigerant gas transferred from the compressor 1 to a liquid phase by heat radiation, an expansion valve 3 for reducing the pressure of the liquid-phase refrigerant transferred from the condenser 2 to change the liquid-phase refrigerant to a low temperature refrigerant in liquid and gas phases, and an evaporator 4 for evaporating the low temperature liquid and gas phases with absorption of environmental heat, and transferring the evaporated refrigerant gas to the compressor 1.
The conventional room air conditioner further comprises a base pan 5 for supporting all of the operative components thereon, first and second wall portions 6 and 7 vertically mounted on the base pan 5 with predetermined intervals to separate the evaporator part from the condenser part, a driving motor 9 fixed to a motor mount 8 which is vertically assembled on the base pan 5, being located between the first and second wall portions 6 and 7, a blower 10 and a fan 11 fixed to both ends of a driving shaft 91 of the driving motor 9, a control unit 12 assembled on the first wall portion 6 for the control of the room temperature, a grill portion 13, assembled in front of the first wall portion 6, for drawing indoor air there through and expelling the conditioned air to a room, and a cabinet mounted on the base pan 5 to cover all the operative components mounted on the base pan 5.
The first wall portion 6 comprises a barrier 61 vertically assembled on the base pan 5 to separate and isolate the evaporator part from the condenser part, a scroll 62, assembled with the base pan 5 and the barrier 61, for guiding the circulation of the air drawn by the blower 10 and conditioned through the evaporator 4 to the room, and gathering condensate collected on the evaporator 4 for the drainage out of the unit, an evaporator cover 63, assembled with the scroll 62, for guiding the circulation of the conditioned air to the room in cooperation with the scroll 62 so that the conditioned air is expelled through the grill portion 13, a brace 64, assembled with the second wall portion 7 and the barrier 61, for providing support between the first and second wall portions 6 and 7 at predetermined intervals, and fixing members 65 assembled on the lower part of the scroll to fix a temperature sensor for sensing the temperature of the drawn indoor air.
The second wall portion 7 has a structure assembled on the base pan 5 to separate and isolate the condenser part from the evaporator part. The second wall portion 7 guides the outdoor air drawn by the fan 11 so that the drawn air passes through the condenser 2 and then is expelled to the room through an outlet port 141 of the cabinet 14.
However, the conventional room air conditioner has the drawbacks in that the first wall portion 6 is composed of a large number of parts such as the metal barrier 61, scroll 62, evaporator cover 63, brace 64, and fixing members 65, and these parts are separately prepared by press bending before assembly, and thus relatively high material and labor costs are involved during manufacture. Further, since a large number of parts of the first wall portion 6 must be assembled one-by-one on the base pan 5 by assembling screws, such assembly work will greatly reduce the productivity of the room air conditioner.